The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
At the present time there is significant interest in the use of remote, unmanned vehicles for various surveillance and exploration activities. The use of remotely controlled, unmanned vehicles enables searching, surveillance and exploration operations to be carried out in situations or environments that might be too dangerous or hazardous for human piloted vehicles. Such applications might include battlefield applications to survey movements of equipment or individuals, or surveillance of fixed structures such as dams, bridges, power plants, or any other area of interest. Further applications might include the exploration of areas contaminated with fallout from biological or chemical weapons. Still further applications may involve the exploration of areas such as caves, the interiors of buildings, mountainous regions, or any other geographic area where movement by human piloted vehicles would be difficult, impossible or unnecessarily hazardous to humans.
The control of remotely operated unmanned vehicles has traditionally relied on the use of joystick-based user interfaces. This type of user interface typically allows only one-to-one control of a single unmanned vehicle. Put differently, the joystick-based control system typically requires a single individual to monitor and control the motion of a single unmanned vehicle. The joystick-based interface typically controls the unmanned remote vehicles through direct actuator and motor control. The vehicle motion is accomplished by varying servo actuators for direction control and drive motors that can produce thrust in the case of aerial vehicles, or wheel rotation for ground vehicles. In the case of aerial vehicles, or wheel rotation for ground vehicles. The use of any form of joystick controlled vehicle also typically requires considerable practice with the joystick control device by the individual before the individual becomes proficient at maneuvering the unmanned vehicle.